The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to attaching a processor and corresponding heat sink to a circuit board.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
A processor socket includes a plurality of contacts, each contact being soldered to a circuit board. In order for the information handling system to function, the processor must be mated to the processor socket so that the processor is connected to the other components of the information handling system through the soldered contacts. These soldered contacts are relatively strong when subjected to high compressive forces, but are much weaker with regard to other forces, such as shear forces or tensile forces. With certain processor and processor socket combinations, such as Land Grid Arrays (LGA) and Ball Grid Arrays (BGA), problems have arisen as higher and higher amounts of compressive force have become necessary to mate the processor with the processor socket.
Heat sinks are often used to help dissipate the thermal energy of the processor. A method of achieving the force needed to mate the processor and processor socket involves mounting the heat sink over the processor and onto the circuit board in a manner such that the heat sink engages the processor and provides the needed compressive force. A problem with this method is that the processor cannot be mated to the processor socket without the heat sink installed, and it is desirable that the processor socket be operational without the heat sink attached for purposes such as processor socket testing and qualification.
Processor and processor socket mating without use of a heat sink for these high force requirement combinations has been achieved by fabricating a retention device on the processor socket. Due to the high force requirements, these retention devices are made of metal, which increases the weight of the processor socket and creates reflow processing issues during board soldering. When a processor is mated to the processor socket, the retention device subjects itself to high stress in order to apply the needed compressive force. This stress warps the device, and consequently, the processor socket. When the processor socket has been soldered to the circuit board and has a processor mated to it, this warping applies non-compressive forces to the solder contacts, putting them under severe stress that can result in their failure. This method also requires an additional mechanism to attach the corresponding heat sink to the processor. When the heat sink is thermally connected to the processor, the thermal interface material can transmit movement of the heat sink to the processor and the solder contacts. Because the solder contacts are under severe stress, any shock to the heat sink risks breaking them.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus for attaching a processor and corresponding heat sink on a circuit board in an information handling system absent the disadvantages found in the prior methods discussed above.